What We Study

NIEHS intramural scientists have defined descriptive terms of particular relevance to their own research, and have ranked those terms accordingly. This search feature obtains best-matches with the terms you choose, and shows an overall score based on the scientific rankings.

Research

NIEHS research uses state-of-the-art science and technology to investigate the interplay between environmental exposures, human biology, genetics, and common diseases to help prevent disease and improve human health.

Research Highlights

The vision of the NIEHS is to use environmental health sciences to understand human disease and improve human health. Use the search box to see research highlights from NIEHS scientists since its founding in 1966.

Technology Transfer

Visiting NIEHS

About NIEHS

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) is expanding and accelerating its contributions to scientific knowledge of human health and the environment, and to the health and well-being of people everywhere.

NIEHS grantees reported that after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lowered the limit for arsenic levels in drinking water, exposure to arsenic dropped significantly among people using public water systems in the U.S. Because arsenic exposure is associated with higher rates of several types of cancer, the researchers estimated that reduced exposure was equivalent to a reduction of 200 to 900 lung and bladder cancer cases or 50 cases of skin cancer per year. They observed no improvements in arsenic exposure rates among users of private wells, which are not federally regulated.

The study used data from 14,127 people in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2003 and 2014. The researchers measured levels of dimethylarsinate, the primary metabolite of inorganic arsenic in humans. They examined data from before and after 2006, when EPA lowered the arsenic regulatory limit from 50 to 10 micrograms per liter of drinking water.

After adjusting for other sources of arsenic, such as diet and smoking, the analysis showed that arsenic levels decreased by 17 percent for public water users. Specifically, levels fell from 3.01 micrograms per liter for 2003-2004 to 2.49 micrograms per liter in 2013-2014.